


There For Each Other

by BrokenBookAddict



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Love, SnowHarry, Snowells, post 4x19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 21:03:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14434029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenBookAddict/pseuds/BrokenBookAddict
Summary: After the end of 4x19, Caitlin follows some advice and it leads Harry to a confession.





	There For Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> I do NOT own The Flash. What I do own are any errors. 
> 
> I needed to write this after 4x19. Inspired by TrinityRose and her fic- the last note. Thank you for allowing me to use the prompt.

Dragging her eyes away from the computer monitor, Caitlin's gaze settles on the post it note positioned beside her keyboard upon the desk. The familiar writing she knows to be there is hidden from view, the post it laying upside down. This little square of paper is one of the last notes she had shared with Killer Frost, her alter ego as always having no problems with laying the truth bare.

Ever since she'd found this note stuck to her monitor in the med bay the day before the confrontation with DeVoe inside Star labs, since they'd lost Ralph, she's carried it with her ever since. For two reasons, one; is the fact it is the last note of communication between herself and Killer Frost but secondly and the most important is because of what's written there. The last thing she needs is for someone to find this, so she's carried it with her. The small piece of paper burning a whole in her pocket with every step.

Glancing to the door to check she is alone and seeing the room beyond clear, Caitlin looks back and flips over the note. The familiar writing she knew to be there is now staring back up at her.

_"I'm glad to see your taste has improved, both in fashion and in men... Tell him how you feel."_

Those last few words echo in her head. _'Tell him how you feel, tell him how you feel_ '... Caitlin swallows hard and flips the paper back over, going for the old saying of out of sight, out of mind and yet, it is still there going round in her in head.

Over the last week since everything had happened, Caitlin has acknowledged to herself that the unexpected advice she's gotten from her alter ego holds truth. There was never a moment after reading that the first time she saw it for her to think what or who is she talking about. Deep down inside herself she's known the truth of her feelings for awhile, she's just never acknowledged them so openly, until now. Now, seeing it written, hearing it from someone else even if that someone else is another part of herself, it makes it all the more real and she can't hide from it anymore. The only question now is what is she meant to do about it? Should she take a chance and risk their friendship and working relationship by telling him how she feels? A part of her is terrified at the idea but the other part, the part that wants it, is telling her to take the chance because life is short and full of the unknown. You never know what's around the corner which has never been more true. She only has to look back over the last week to see how true that is, the team is broken in their fight against DeVoe, Ralph's gone and she's lost a part of herself, a part she finds herself missing more than she ever imagined she would. Now is the time, time to take a chance.

It isn't hard to track him down especially as on the way she bumps into Cisco who points her in the direction of his work room. Now, as she stands in the doorway watching him as he sits at his desk, engrossed with whatever is on his tablet, she feels herself faltering. But she's come this far, she isn't about to turn and run now. She's made the decision to tell him and that's exactly what she is about to do. How she's going to tell him though, she isn't entirely sure.

She steps further into the room, her footsteps quiet as she moves. "Hey, Harry."

He jumps slightly, looking over his shoulder at her before he turns back to his tablet. He flips it over before standing, turning around to face her. "Snow, what can I do for you?"

She looks around the room. "I was hoping you had a moment if you're not to busy, so we could talk?"

Harry stiffens, immediately thinking back to his conversation with Ramon and wondering if the younger man has betrayed his confidence and told her about what's happening with him. He decides to play it cool. "Of course," he says, meeting her eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Can we sit?" She asks, glancing at the stools to her left. She needs to be sitting down for this.

Harry motions with his hand at the two stools and the pair move to take a seat. Once settled they sit in silence for a few moments, Caitlin trying to motivate herself to confess her feelings and Harry dreading what's about to come. He isn't at all ready to confess to anyone else, truth be told he hadn't wanted to confess to Cisco in the first place.

Not being able to stand the silence any longer, Harry breaks it. "You asked to talk, it would help if you said something. That's normally how these things go."

"Right," Caitlin nods letting out a nervous laugh. "I just... I don't know where to start."

"At the beginnings usually helps."

"Right, well you know that Killer Frost and I were communicating through notes?" She waits for Harry to nod before she continues. "The last note she left me, she offered some advice."

"Advice?" Harry asks, sounding intrigued as he leans forward on the stool. He feels himself start to relax now that he knows this isn't about him and his declining mind. "Is that out of the ordinary, her giving you advice?"

"Not really," Caitlin shrugs. "She offered the odd piece here and there, mostly about fashion or our powers but... this was different."

Harry rests his elbow on the table beside him, propping his head in his palm as he looks at the woman opposite him. "Different how?"

Here goes. "The advice Killer Frost offered made me realise or rather admit something that I'd been denying to myself for a while."

"And what's that?"

If she didn't blurt it out, it would never come out. "That I have feelings for you."

Maybe it was his intelligence dulling because he just sat there, staring back at her as he processed what she said, he couldn't have heard what she said right. "Feelings? What kind of feelings?" He eventually questions, looking for clarification of what he assumes she means.

Great, he's making her actually say it. "I'm in love with you, Harry."

"Oh," he responds dumbly.

 _Oh_ what exactly? What does that mean? Caitlin's mind is screaming. She doesn't say anything back, instead she gives him a minute.

Harry stands from his chair, needing to put some distance between them he walks away to the opposite desk across the room, where the thinking cap lay in two pieces after he'd broken it earlier.

This is the last thing he ever thought would be occurring right now. He doesn't know how to respond. Contrary to recent events he isn't stupid, well not yet, he knows they've grown closer over the last few months, over their talks and shared coffees at Jitters but still, he hadn't been expecting this. His own feelings for the woman behind him had been pushed aside in favour of the fight against DeVoe but also because he had felt at the time that there wasn't a real possibility of Caitlin ever returning his feelings. That thought though now confirmed wasn't an option for him, not now with what's happening to him. As much as he wants it... wants her, he can't allow himself to be a burden to her.

Taking a breath he turns around and faces her. Before he even opens his mouth he hates himself for what he's about to do. "Caitlin..."

Whatever is written across his face or in his tone of voice, she seems to pick up on what he's not saying. "It's fine," she says, a tremble in her voice as she stands from her chair. "I never expected you to feel the same, I just... I wanted to tell you. I didn't want to waste a chance."

His guilt deepens. "I'm sorry," Harry tells her quietly. "I'm don't mean to hurt you..."

"You haven't," she reassures him. "Honestly Harry, I was never under the allusion that you felt the same. I just wanted you to know how I felt about you." She shrugs, putting on a brave face. When inside, her heart is aching. What she's said is the truth, when she made the decision to tell him she knew she was taking a chance, that there was a huge possibility that he wouldn't love her back but she owed it to herself and to Killer Frost to tell him, whatever the outcome. Caitlin jerked her thumb at the door. "I should go, I have some things still left to do before I head home, thanks for listening Harry."

Harry nods, not knowing what more he can say.

"Good night," she whispers as she passes him, walking out of the workroom and into the hallway leaving behind a very troubled man.

The walk back to her lab is quiet, too quiet and it allows her too much time to think over what had just happened. Once she is back in the relative safety of the med bay, she does as she said she would and begins looking over the tests she'd run on herself earlier.

It is hard for Caitlin as she makes herself focus on the tasks at hand, not allowing her mind to wander to analyse her heartache. How much time passes she couldn't tell as she loses herself in her work but when she becomes frustrated at not being able to find the right answers of how to get Killer Frost back, she knows that it's time to call it a night. Fresh eyes tomorrow may prove useful.

Switching off her monitor she moves to grab her coat, her hand finding the switch on the wall to turn off the lights, allowing the desk lamp beside her monitor to offer the only light in the room. Slipping on her coat, she turns around and her breath catches feeling a little startled when her eyes land on Harry, standing just inside the doorway watching her. About to open her mouth to ask why he is here when she is cut off by him closing the distance between them and pressing his mouth against hers. His kiss is desperate, needy and Caitlin loves it as his tongue chases after hers into her mouth. His hands pull at her waist trying to get her closer as hers grasp at his jacket. The kiss lasts until they're both breathless, the need to pull away to breath being the only reason why they part. Foreheads rest against each others as they try to calm their ragged breaths and racing hearts.

"What?..."

"I lied to you," Harry tells her, his voice low and husky. "I-I feel the same about you."

"Oh..." It's Caitlin's turn to be caught of guard by his confession, soothing her hands over his chest as she takes in that information. The feeling of happiness that settles over her though doesn't last long.

"But this between us, it can't happen."

She pulls back, her pretty hazel gaze meeting his stunning azure, which are darker than she's ever saw them. "Why not? What's stopping us?"

Harry takes a breath. "I am."

She must be missing something. "I don't understand?"

Harry steps back out of her arms, running a shaking hand through his hair. "I'm losing my mind."

Any other time hearing Harry say that would have been comical and jokes would have followed but the look on his face and the haunted look in his eyes tell her he's being serious.

"What are you talking about? Talk to me Harry, tell me what going on."

Shifting on his feet, Harry squares his shoulders taking in a breath. "The promise I made to Cisco I didn't keep. I used dark matter and that combined with the booster has fried my synapses. I'll slowly start to lose intelligence. According to Gideon, I'll have to relearn everything."

"That's why you've been acting weird." Caitlin is quiet for a few moments after, trying to process what he's just told here. "Why would you risk something like that?"

"To stop DeVoe, to protect the team." He tells her honestly, then continues on to tell her the same thing he told Cisco earlier. "I just feel so useless Caitlin, Allen's the Flash, Ramon's vibe and you..." He stops abruptly before he finishes, instantly feeling bad for bringing it up.

But Caitlin finishes for him. "And I was Killer Frost. We can talk about it Harry, I'm in the process of figuring it out."

"That's good, I'd like to help."

His offer makes her smile. "And I appreciate that but back to what you said, you not having powers, do you think that matters? Does it matter to Iris or to Joe? We do the best we can with what we have, Harry. I proved that to myself yesterday."

"It's easier said than done, it just felt like..."

When he stops, she moves back into him, her hands running down his arms slowly. "Felt like what?"

Harry let out a huff of frustration and is honest with her. "It just felt like my only use to the team was my intelligence, being smarter than everyone else to get it done and protect you but I'm not and I can't. That's why I did it, used the dark matter because it felt like I wasn't enough."

"Oh, Harry." To say it hurt to hear him say that is a vast understatement. Cupping his face in her hands gently, she makes him look at her. "You are who you were meant to be. Do you think that's why we want you here, on the team and in our lives? For your intelligence because it's not, we care about you for who you are, Harry. I love you for who you are." She's never seen him more vulnerable than at this moment.

"Caitlin..." he says, his voice trembling, "I've made a stupid mistake."

"And we'll fix it," she immediately responds adamantly.

"That's what Ramon said."

Caitlin's surprised by that. "You spoke with Cisco?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's good. We're gonna need everyone on this."

A hint of a smile creeps onto Harry's sad but handsome face. "He said that too."

"He did? That's good because it's true."

They look at one another, eyes locked as silence falls between them. Closing the gap, its Caitlin who presses her mouth to his this time. Her lips moving slowly but surely over his. This kiss a total contrast to their first not too long ago. Pulling away, her lips hover over his. "We'll fix this Harry. "

Harry let's out a shuddering breath. "Thank you."

But Caitlin just shakes her head as she steps back. "No, you don't have to thank me." She grabs his hand and tugs on his hand leading him over to the medical bed. "Sit and take off your jacket and sweater."

Harry smiles, a proper smile and Caitlin thinks how long it's been since she's seen that. "Really now Dr Snow," he teases as he does as she instructed, watching as she goes to turn on the lights. "Is this necessary? The problems up here." He taps at his head before setting aside his clothing.

"Yes it's necessary. I'm gonna run all the tests we can think off." She takes of her coat hanging it back up and reaches for her cell phone in the pocket.

"We?"

Caitlin holds up a finger as she presses the phone to her ear. "Cisco? Hey, could you come back to the lab? I know it's late but..." She looks to Harry, sat shirtless staring down at his hands in his lap. Her heart absolutely aching at the sight. "Harry's here and I want to run some tests." She nods along to whatever else Cisco is saying before hanging up. Moving over to Harry she stands in between his legs, her hands going to his face. When he looks at her, she smiles encouragingly. "We're gonna figure this out."

She sounds so sure and it lifts Harry's hopes but it doesn't fully squash the doubt that remains. "And what if we don't?"

She blinks away the tears that threaten to fall at how small his voice sounds. "It won't change anything, I'll still be here, by your side."

His eyes fall shut and he groans. "That's the last thing I want, to be a burden..."

The rest of his words are cut of by Caitlin's fingers covering his mouth. "You're not a burden, so stop saying that."

Harry reluctantly nods but can't say anything more when a breach opens suddenly and Cisco steps out. The younger man's eyes widen as he takes in the close embrace his friends are in.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Do you want me to leave then come back in a few minutes?"

"No, you're here now so we might as well get started." Caitlin reluctantly moves away from Harry and goes to get what she needs, coming back and holding out a tablet to Cisco.

Taking the offered tablet Cisco looks up at Harry, his serious eyes looking worried. "So you decided to tell someone huh?" He sounds happy at the fact. "Good choice."

Harry's eyes wander from Cisco back to Caitlin when she steps up beside him. "Ready?"

Harry takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Not yet," he answers but continues when she frowns, turning to Cisco. "The rest of the team isn't here, can you call Allen and West Allen?"

Cisco nods, his face softening at how hard he knows this must be for the other man. "Of course, I'll be right back."

As Cisco heads to call Barry and Iris, Harry turns to Caitlin. At her questioning look, he explains. "Both you and Ramon told me we need everyone on this." He reminds her, "Besides, you told me once that we're a team right?"

"Right." Caitlin smiles, her hazel gaze watery with the withheld tears she's fighting. Leaning in she kisses him gently. "We're more than that Harry and we will get through all this."

Her words hold a defiant promise and Harry grasps desperately onto that, believing in her and the team to help him, to help him right his stupid mistake.

Wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into him, Harry holds onto Caitlin and the hope she fills him with. Allowing himself to believe that they can do this.

That they can right his wrong, that they can bring back Killer Frost and that they can and will defeat DeVoe. 

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think, love hearing from you. Thank you for checking this out, I appreciate it. More Snowells soon.


End file.
